Machine for preparing hides and skins of every description.



L. RICHTER.

MACHINE FOR PREPARING HIDES AND SKINS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 10, 1910. v

977, 1 32. Patented Nov, 29, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

- m 0 (a! I L o mes-5'66: 1720221257,-

7H5 mmms PETERS ca, WASHINGTON, n. c.

L. RICHTER. MACHINE FOR PREPARING HIDES AND SKINS OF EVERY DESGRIPTION.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 10, 1910.

Patented Nov. 29, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

In gar-E351",

WIT-355525:

ca., WASHINGTON, a. c.

FEE E,

LOUIS RICHTER, OF CRIMMITSCHAU, GERMANY.

MACHINE FOR PREPARING I-IIDES AND SKINS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. as, 1910.

Application filed June 10, 1910. Serial No. 566,217.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS RICHTER, manufacturer, a subject of the German Empire, and resident of Crimmitschau, Saxony, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Preparing Hides and Skins of Every Description, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to machines for treating hides, skins and leather of that class in which two bladed cylinders or rolls coact with a work-support to effect treatment of the entire surface of the hide, skin or leather without the necessity of shifting the work.

The present invention has for its object to increase the capacity of machines of the class referred to; to provide for working the hide or skin so as to avoid cutting, plaiting or otherwise injuring the same; to provide for automatically bringing the bladed rolls into their operative position and for governing the length of time they remain therein; and to insure free passage of the parts removed down through the machine with the least possible danger of the working parts of the machine being fouled or rendered inoperative. To this end, I employ bladed cylinders or rolls, which are arranged in substantially parallel planes and are movable toward and from each other, and locate between said rolls a work-support, which has a fixed position with relation to said rolls and is movable in a direction to carry the hide or skin in one direction pastthe roll on one side of the support and in the opposite direction past the other roll on the other side of the support.

The work-support has cooperating with it a feed roll, which is located above the same between the bladed cylinders so as to allow ample opportunity for the hide or skin to be inserted into the machine by the operator from above the working rolls, so that one end of the hide or skin, which may be considered the front end, may be accurately positioned on the top of the work-support and smoothed out by hand, while the other or rear end of said hide or skin hangs down between the work-support and one of the bladed rolls. The work-support may be an endless band, belt or apron, or it may be a substantially small bed roll or cylinder, and in either event, said work-support has a fixed position with relation to the work rolls, so that the upper part or top of the worksupport is always in the same position for receiving the work from above the working rolls, which are preferably arranged with their axes in substantially the same horizontal plane. Provision is made for automatically moving said work rolls toward and from the work-support, and for removing one of said rolls from its working position after it has treated that portion of the hide lying on the top portion of the work-support between the feed rolls and the point of contact of the other work roll. These and other features of this invention will be pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

Figure 1 is a vertical section of one form of machine embodying this invention. Fig. 2, a front elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1, and Figs. 3 and 4E, diagrammatic views of a modification to be referred to.

Referring to Fig. 1, a, 0, represent two working rolls, of any suitable or desired construetion according to the particular character of the work to be performed on the hide or skin a such, for instance, as those now commonly employed for fieshing, unhairing, etc., and which are provided wit-l1 helically arranged blades, vanes or working edges a The working rolls a, a are hung in swing arms 10, 12 pivotally supported attheir upper ends at 13, 14C, to the upright sides 15 of the framework of the machine, and having their lower ends connected by helical springs 16, 17, to levers 18, 19, carrying rollers 20, 21, which cooperate with cams 22, 23, fast on shafts 24, 25, supported by the framework of the machine and rotated in any suitable manner. The swing arms 10, 12 are moved in one direction by r the cams 22, 23, so as to bodily move the working rolls a, a toward each other and into their operative position, and in the opposite direction into their inoperative position by the springs 16, 17. The cams 22, 23, are and may be of different shape for a purpose as will be described.

Between the working rolls a, a is located a support Z) for' the hide, skin or leather a which has a fixed position with relation to the said working rolls, yet is movable to carry the work through the machine past the roll a in one direction and past the roll a in the opposite direction, and is constructed and arranged so as to enable the hide or skin to be placed by the operator in position from above the working rolls, so that the front end of the hides or skins may always be placed in the same or predeter mined position on the upper part of the work-support where it can be smoothed out by the operator before being acted upon by the roll a, while the greater portion of the hide or skin is inserted between the work support and the working roll a for a purpose as will be described.

In Fig. 1, the work-support Z) is shown as an endless band, belt or apron of cloth or other suitable material, which is passed about top and bottom rolls 0 arranged as shown above and below the working rolls a, a and rotated in any suitable manner to move the endless band and the hide or skin thereon.

Vi ithin the endless band 7) are two backing rolls d, (P, which are arranged substantially in ahorizontal plane passing through the centers of the bladed rolls a, (4

Above the work-support and cooperating therewith are two feed rolls 30, 31, one as 30 being supported by the framework in fixed position with relation to the endless band 5, and the other 31 being journaled in boxes 34 vertically movable in the framework and yieldingly backed up by a spring d0.

The working rolls a, a are normally away from the work-support b, and the feed roll 34-. is elevated.

In operation, the hide or skin is lifted by the operator above the working roll a and the lower end is allowed to drop down between the working roll a and the bed Z), while the upper end is placed on the top part of the bed with its front edge in close proximity to the stationary roll 30, which acts as a guide or gage for the proper placing of the hides or skins. The front portion or end of the hide or skin rests upon the upper part of the work-support and is accessible to the operator above the working rolls and can be smoothed out by hand before the machine is started.

The operator is protected from the bladed rolls a, a which may be continuously revolved, by the guards or hoods 42, 4:8. It will thus be seen that the greater part of the hide or skin is interposed between the work-support b and the working roll a and hangs loose, being suspended from the worksupport I), and the weight of the hide or skin serves to free it from wrinkles and presents it in the best condition for action by the roll (1?. The feed roll 31 is then lowered into contact with the portion of the hide resting on the work-support, and power is applied to the machine in a manner well understood to start the band 3) and feed rolls 30, 81, in motion and to revolve the cams 22, 23, which may be suitably constructed and timed to move the Working rolls into contact with the hide or skin after the latter has been advanced to the point where its front end 1 is brought opposite the center of the roll a, at which time the roll a is engaged with the hide or skin.

The cam 23 is shaped so as to hold the working roll a in its operative position long enough to enable the greater part of the hide or skin to be fleshed or otherwise treated by it, while the cam 22 is shaped so as to hold the working roll a in its operative position long enough to have it treat the hide or skin from the front edge or end 1 of the same, to the part which has been treated by the roll (.4 and then allow the roll a to be moved away from the worksupport and into its inoperative position by its own weight while the roll (4 remains in its operative position until the hide or skin has been moved past the roll (1?, after which the latter can be moved into its inoperative position by gravity, which is permitted by the cam 23. In this manner, the entire surface of the hide or skin is uniformly treated or worked on the passage of the hide or skin in one direction through the machine. Inequalities in the thickness of the hide or skin are compensated for by the springs 16, 17.

The work rolls a, a are and may be revolved in opposite directions in a manner well understood and both revolve toward the free ends of the hide or skin.

By reason of the hide or skin hanging down below the contacting point 2 of the work roll a with its lower end free, the opportunity is ail'orded for the working roll a to automatically smooth out the hide or skin and thus avoid plaiting and cutting the hide or skin, while the portion of the hide or skin above the contacting point of the roll a may be manually smoothed out before it is subjected to the action of the working roll a. It will also be observed that both working rolls act to discharge or throw the parts removed from the hide or skin down into the center of the machine between the side frames, which portion of the machine is practically clear or free from operating parts, and as a result the liability of the machine being fouled or rendered inoperative by the accumulated parts removed from the hide or skin is reduced to a minimum.

In Fig. 1, the work-support is shown as an endless band or apron, but it is not desired to limit the invention in this respect, as the work-support may be made in the form of a bed roll as shown in Figs. 3 and t.

It will be observed that the work-support has a fixed position with. relation to the working rolls, that is, it is stationary with respect thereto so far as bodily movement with relation to its operative position is concerned, but is movable in a direction so as to carry the hide or skin in an upward direction past the roll a and in a downward or opposite direction past the roll a.

With the machine embodying this inven tion, a maximum number of hides or skins can be treated in a given time, as the greater portion of the hide or skin is worked by one roll on one side of the work-support, while a materially smaller portion is worked by the other roll on the opposite side of the work-support.

Claims.

1. In a machine of the class described, in combination, substantially parallel working rolls rotatable in opposite directions, and one of which is movable toward and from the other, and a work-support located between said rolls in a fixed position with relation thereto and movable in a direction to carry the hide or skin in one direction past the roll on one side of the work-support and in the opposite direction past the other roll on the other side of the work-support, the latter having its upper surface accessible from above the working rolls to permit the hide or skin to be placed in the machine from above the working rolls with the upper portion of the hide or skin resting on the upper part of the work-support between the working rolls and with the lower part hanging down between said work-support and one of said rolls, whereby the suspended portion of the hideor skin may be automatically smoothed out on the work-support as it is being treated by one of the working rolls on one side of the work-support, and the upper part resting on the work-support may be manually smoothed out before it is presented to the working roll on the other side of the work-support, substantially as described.

2. In a machine of the class described, in combination substantially parallel rotatable working rolls, one of which is bodily movable toward the other, a work-support located between said rolls in a fixed position with relation thereto and movable in a direction to carry the hide or skin in one direction past the roll on one side of the worksupport and in the opposite direction past the other roll on the other side of the worksupport, and cams to automatically govern the engagement of the working rolls with the hide or skin, one of said cams being constructed to permit one of the rolls to be moved into its inoperative position while the other of said rolls is maintained in its operative position by its cam, substantially as described.

3. In a-machine of the class described, in combination, substantially parallel rotatable working-rolls, one of which is bodily movable toward the other, a work-support located between said rolls in a fixed position with relation thereto and movable in a direction to carry the hide or skin in one direc tion past the roll on one side of the worksupport and in the opposite direction past the other roll on the other side of the worksupport and a cam to automatically govern.

the engagement of the bodily movable work ing roll with the hide or skin substantially as described.

at. In a machine of the class described, in combination, substantially parallel rotatable working-rolls separated from each other, a work-support located between said rolls in a fixed position with relation thereto and movable in a direction to carry the hide or skin in one direction past the roll on one side of the work-support and in the opposite direction past the other roll on the other side of the work-support, and means to eflect a separation between one of said working rolls and the side of said work-support adjacent thereto to enable the hide or skin to be placed in the machine from above the working rolls with the upper portion of the hide or skin resting on the upper part of the work-support and the lower portion hanging down in the space thus formed, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

LOUIS RICHTER. In the presence of RUDOLPH FRICKE, ALBERT R. IVIORAWETZ. 

